Mwewa appeals K20,000 defamation judgment in James Mwalimu case

UPND Lusaka mayoral candidate Chitambala Mwewa has appealed a Lusaka Subordinate Court ruling that found him liable for defaming businessman James Mwalimu and ordered him to pay K20,000 in damages. The case arose from Facebook posts in which Mwewa allegedly accused Mwalimu of illegally dealing in land around the Lusaka City Market area and used derogatory descriptions against him. Following the suit, the subordinate court ruled in Mwalimu’s favour and awarded him damages.

In his memorandum of appeal, Mwewa argues that Magistrate Mutinta Mwenya erred by entering judgment against a defendant whose legal identity was allegedly not properly established before the court. He further contends that the court failed to adequately examine the electronic publication relied upon by the plaintiff and did not sufficiently interrogate how its alleged author was identified. The appellant has also challenged the court’s reliance on electronic extracts, arguing that they were uncertified and that issues relating to their authenticity, completeness and accuracy were not fully addressed.

Mwewa further disputes the K20,000 award, claiming the court did not properly assess the basis upon which damages were granted. He argues that the magistrate failed to adequately analyse whether the statements complained of amounted to assertions of fact, opinion, political commentary or rhetoric, and did not clearly identify the exact words alleged to be defamatory. According to the appeal, some of the statements attributed to him were not contained in the publication produced as evidence.

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Mwewa has asked the Lusaka High Court to set aside the judgment in its entirety. The subordinate court had also ordered him to issue a public apology on Facebook within three days, remove the offending posts, refrain from making further derogatory remarks against Mwalimu, and pay K5,000 in legal costs. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.

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